Drown
by Aiiro Hoshi
Summary: One Shot. "…those walls…they will collapse inwardly, right…won’t they…"


**Brief Commentary:  
**Wrote this in class - a really bad thing for me to do, seeing as I have exams this week... ;A; I be dead. Arguh. But this idea was floating around in my head for a while...-sigh- Review if it's not too ugly, I s'pose. First Soul Eater fanfic. This has a weensy bit of Soul/Maka if you squint...and get a reeeeally big magnifying glass. While I support the pairing, I get tired of people over-speculating everyday interactions between Soul and Maka. As of now, they aren't head over heels or anything of the sort. It's at that stage where you've got a really strong friendship, and that's beginning to develop further...at least, that's what I think. Well, I tried my "best."

* * *

**Drown  
**_One Shot_

It was completely necessary, Soul had to keep telling himself. It was all completely necessary.

He found himself in a familiar place, looking down at the dense black water below him as insanity pulsed through his veins and tried to overtake his mind. The fact that, in the background, the stupid demon could be heard giggling with victory wasn't helping him fight off the madness. Thin, invisible strings tugged at his arms, his legs, his torso; everywhere, ever-so-slowly dragging Soul up and further away from the water – away from Maka.  
_  
Shit…_

They had been battling Arachnophobia again, that damn mosquito they had fought at "Brew" quickly stepping in the way. BlackStar and Kid had helped somewhat, before they were called to assist else where; BlackStar had screeched over his shoulder that he would punch them in the faces if they didn't kill the guy quick. However, the minutes had eventually dredged into half an hour, and both were sweating bullets and blood; the mosquito had hardly a scratch on him. With some reluctance (they remembered how difficult it had been the first time to counter Maka's insanity), the two had allowed his demon to lead them into the black room, and it had suddenly warped from there.

Another half hour had passed, and the pull of insanity was stronger than ever…and this time there wasn't a Chrona to investigate or a sense of safety once the black blood had returned to flowing throw their veins, instead of working as a shield and a source of power. A single moment of weakness meant instant death at that point, and the mosquito left no openings or even a five-second rest. By now, Soul was pretty sure they were in a condition similar to Stein's…according to the rumors. It was becoming more and more painful to resist the madness.

"Hey, Maka," Soul called out hoarsely. The demon scythe scanned the water for movement, for a pale flicker to signal she had heard. "Maka. Hey, we need to stop it. I can't take it much longer."

No reply. Brow furrowing, he tugged insistently at the invisible strings pulling him up, but to no avail.

"Come on, damn it…" he grunted, arching his back and pushing his feet behind him, as if he would find something solid to push off from. He seemed to dip forward, and thrusting his entire body downwards, Soul could not bite back the scream of agony (it was a sensation very similar to having one's heart torn out) as he fell from above.

Landing on the dense liquid with a solid 'thud,' he managed to suppress a groan before getting onto his knees and trying to squint through the inky blackness beneath his fingers.  
_God dammit, Maka, where the hell are you? Maka! Hey, I'm talking to you! Answer me already! Shit, where are you…  
_The anxiety was just piling on top of the insanity as he crawled around like an infant, mind screeching for Maka to just say _something_, damn it.

A wispy movement from below suddenly caught his eye, and with renewed eagerness, Soul silently told her,  
_Oi, Maka! We gotta stop, y'know! I really can't stand it any longer._

Again, there was no reply.

His lips pulled into a frown as he stared at what he was certain was Maka. She just seemed to be floating around, aimlessly…as if she were asleep.

_Wake up, Maka! Hey! Open your fuckin' eyes! We have to quit! Come ON!_ He was pounding on the black water now, eyes beginning to widen in desperation. Although he had never fallen asleep while being in danger of becoming insane, Soul was pretty sure it was a bad idea to do so. She didn't appear to hear him, and, much to his horror, Maka seemed to be sinking down, further away from him.

He couldn't tell that she was breathing, either.

_WAKE UP! FUCK, MAKA, WAKE UP!! _Soul began to claw at the water, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling as the strings began to pull him up again, ever-so-slowly.

"NO, DAMN IT!!" the demon scythe was screaming aloud now, furiously trying to shove an arm beneath the water in hopes he might just brush her hair, or her shirt, or her arm…anything. Anything he could pull up with him, as much as it might cause her pain. He'd rather her in a hospital for a little while than the both of them spending an eternity or whatever in this tugging madness. "MAKA! WAKE THE FUCK UP!!"

Soul was several inches off of the water's surface, now, kicking and screeching like a child as he tried to resist the strings' pull, and the insanity creeping back, more strongly this time, into his brain. She was deaf to his cries, the scythe technician only sinking further into the black water. Maka's small figure had become smaller and smaller against all the black, as if she were being swallowed up, eaten.

"MAKAAA!!" he screamed again, throat becoming terribly dry. His fingertips barely brushed the water's surface now, and anything he could see of her was disappearing into the inky blackness. "MAKA! …OPEN YOUR EYES, MAKA! DON'T-"

The demon scythe suddenly found that he could scream no more, the madness pooling into his brain at an alarming rate. It flowed from his brain to his neck and back; the arched spine went limp. It snaked into his arms and legs; they too fell idle, and he couldn't even struggle. The strings had brought him up so high, and with her so far below, Soul could not even feel the presence of Maka's soul wavelength any longer.

As he closed his eyes, the last thing he ever heard was the dark, maniacal laughter of his demon, voice high-pitched with glee.

"The needle cannot fly away! It can never fly away!"

_Shut up, you miserable little ogre…_Soul grumbled inwardly, before a grin stretched across his face. It was a terrible, frightening, insane grin.

He was floating in black, an incredible pain in his chest. Squinting in hopes to see something, anything, the demon scythe was taken by surprise when he glimpsed the light, and heard the panicked voice of his technician.

_A light…? Maka? Hey, wait for me…I'll be right up. Gimme a second, Maka._

_Soul, don't! Stop! Stop it, Soul, don't! It hurts, it hurts…it HURTS!_

And he swam up, eager.

"_ARRRRUGGGGGGGGGGGH!!_"

A pause.

"…those walls…they will collapse inwardly, right…won't they…"

* * *

_Sorry for stealing your favorite thing to say, Chrona, and disguising it as something else. ;o;  
_


End file.
